Uncertainty in the context of multislit interferometry

TL;DR

This paper derives new uncertainty relations for multislit interferometry using modular position and momentum operators, providing a more accurate description of the complementarity between localization and interference fringes.

Contribution

It introduces a novel set of uncertainty relations based on modular operators, improving the understanding of quantum complementarity in multislit experiments.

Findings

Derived uncertainty relations outperform Heisenberg's in this context

Explicit wavefunction computations support the new relations

Refined modular momentum captures interference pattern details

Abstract

A pair of uncertainty relations relevant for quantum states of multislit interferometry is derived, based on the mutually commuting "modular" position and momentum operators and their complementary counterparts, originally introduced by Aharonov and co-workers. We provide a precise argument as to why these relations are superior to the standard Heisenberg uncertainty relation at expressing the complementarity between spatial localisation and the appearance of fringes. We further support the argument with explicit computations involving wavefunctions specifically tailored to the interference setup. Conceptually developing the idea of Aharonov and co-workers, we show how the modular momentum should reflect the given experimental setup, yielding a refined observable that accurately captures the fine structure of the interference pattern.